Punjab Kings player Prabhsimran Singh in action during IPL T20 match PBKS and LSG at the Himachal Pradesh Cricket Association Stadium in Dharamshala, Himachal Pradesh on May 04, 2025.
| Photo Credit: Shashi Shekhar Kashyap
Red was the dominant colour on this cold night at the foothills of the Himalayas.
The gorgeous HPCA stadium’s aesthetically designed pavilion-roofs were lit up in red. There were plenty of red shirts in the big crowd. Punjab Kings were in red, of course.
And that man in red hot form, Prabhsimran Singh, did it again. His muscular 48-ball 91 (6×4, 7×6) powered Punjab Kings to a 37-run win over Lucknow Super Giants in their IPL contest on Sunday (May 4, 2025).
The hosts’ 236 for five proved too tall for the visitors.
It didn’t take Prabhsimran long to get going. It was fireworks mostly from the other end too, though the personnel kept changing.
Josh Inglis, promoted to No. 3, clobbered 30 off 14 balls (1×4, 4×6), skipper Shreyas Iyer, dropping himself to No. 4, cracked 45 off 25 balls (4×4, 2×6) and there was also a hard-hit cameo from Shashank Singh (33 not out, 15b, 4×4, 1×6).
The only one to miss out was Priyansh Arya. He fell to left-arm seamer Akash Singh, playing his first match for Super Giants.
Inglis straightaway went after Mayank Yadav, one of India’s few genuine fast bowlers.
The quick is playing only his second match after returning from injury.
And he wasn’t bowling anywhere near as fast as he was in his maiden season last year. Inglis ensured he was sent over the ropes quickly though, as he hit three sixes in a row.
Prabhsimran, who was dropped on 21 by Nicholas Pooran at mid-off off Avesh Khan, unleashed some mighty hits — a six off the same bowler over long-off rubbing salt into the wounds — to take the game away from Rishabh Pant’s men.
And Super Giants were hardly in the game when they chased the daunting target. Arshdeep Singh was the main reason for that, getting rid of the top three inside five overs.
A sixth-wicket stand of 81 between Ayush Badoni (74, 40b, 5×4, 5×6) and Abdul Samad (45, 24b, 2×4, 4×6) delayed the inevitable. But one of the images of the night was Pant’s bat flying to square-leg and the ball to point, and into Shashank’s hands.
Published – May 05, 2025 12:47 am IST
Content Source: www.thehindu.com